July Affirmation: I walk through the darkness without fear and discover the Light that always surrounds me and enfolds me.
We continue our soul’s journey through the major Arcana of the Tarot with the thirteenth card, the Death card. This card can invoke fear and panic in many people, but this is simply because our culture has such a misunderstanding of the meaning of the death process. Death is not the end of life for the soul. It is simply a transition from one level of consciousness or dimension to the next. We may physically leave our body, but our soul awareness continues on to learn and grow.
In the Inner Child tarot deck this card is represented by the story of Sleeping Beauty, which is a perfect expansion of this process of soul evolution. Sleeping Beauty pricks her finger and falls into a deep sleep which can be seen as our soul journey here on earth. But as we sleep, we journey and we dream and we learn. This is not wasted time, but part of our education. And as we grow, we open to a new awareness of our soul and who we truly are at our deepest level. Sleep can be described as a “little death” and thus as we sleep we let go of most of our tethers to the physical world, but not all. Our silver cord still connects us to the physical plane and that will continue until we reach our ultimate transition to the Other Side. But once again, even that is not the end. In one of the Gnostic Gospels, the Gospel of Philip, we are reminded of our true journey and our true challenge: “Those that say that the Lord first died, and then was resurrected are wrong; for he was first resurrected, and then died. If someone has not first been resurrected, they can only die. If they have already been resurrected, they are alive, as God is Alive.”
From this perspective, then, death becomes part of our chosen path to the ascension of our soul. What a difference it would make if we came to believe and embody this! Death is not an ending but a beginning; a continuation of a long and beautiful journey of growth and expansion. The caterpillar becomes a butterfly!
And remember: “Far too many fear death and regard it as the worst disaster that can befall them: they know nothing of what they speak. Death comes as a dissolution from an exhausted body…Just as the body leaves the mother’s womb when it is mature in it, so also does the soul leave the body when it has come to perfection.”
Asclepius, ancient Greek philosopher and physician
Holy Mother, as we celebrate your Light we begin our journey to darkness. We acknowledge the perfection of your Plan and your continued Presence in our world. Show us the good even in the darkness and teach us to reverence life as it manifests in all its glory before us. Remove our judgments and our assumptions, and open our hearts simply to allow and accept. May we walk gently upon your good Earth and live in harmony with all your creatures. Show us how to heal our wounds so that we may be called your children and your stewards. As we seek balance in our lives, we seek your Truth and Justice for all. In the Light or in the dark, as male and female, we unite in your Love and Compassion. So it is.
